Combined can opener and dispenser



y 1954 H. E. STOCKER Ef AL 2,677,481

COMBINED CAN OPENER AND DISPENSER Filed June 9, 1950 I) 42 37 4 a: iuzcjzlifi 24- L *7 22 T 5 I INVENTORS HELEN E. STOCKER an ARRIGO V. DE MOLIN PATENT AGENT Patented May 4, 1954 COMBINED CAN OPENER AND DISPENSER Helen E. Stocker and Arrigo Varettoin dc Molin, New York, N. Y.

Application June 9, 1950, Serial No. 167,210

3 Claims. 222-835) The invention relates to a combined can opener and dispenser and, more particularly, to a serving device for cans to be used in kitchens or on dining tables in homes, restaurants, etc. Such serving device comprises a receptacle adapted to receive the can to be opened and a lid hingedly mounted on this receptacle and being formed with means to puncture the top of said can during the closing movement of the lid, whereby the opening in the can top thus obtained is brought into connection with a discharge spout within the lid through which the contents of the can may be poured. It is an object of the present invention to provide a separate puncturing means in the lid of such combined can opener and dispenser, said puncturing means being suitably made of a hard and resistant material, such as steel, while the lid itself may consist of any material, in particular, of plastic, ceramic, light and/ or soft metals, etc.

It is a further object of this invention to mount a puncturing knife or tool exchangeably in said lid, so that said knife or tool can be easily removed from said lid, when worn, and replaced.

It is a still further object of the invention to mount the puncturing knife or tool adjustably so that its position can be readily adjusted.

It is another and important object of the invention to provide a sliding closure means having a sightly and pleasing appearance on the outlet of the discharge spout of the new serving device, said closure means being manually controlled With the aid of a protruding part on said sliding means, in reach of the users thumb, when holding the device by its handle.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide in the lid of the new serving device a vent opening for the chamber between the top of the can to be opened and the lid, the outer end of said opening being covered by the sliding closure means when in closed position and being uncovered when said closure means is slid to open position.

Other and further objects and advantageous features of the invention will appear in the specification and will be apparent from the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the serving device, according to the present invention, being adapted to receive a can of condensed or evaporated milk.

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the lid or cover of the device of Fig. l, on a somewhat reduced scale.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section th'roughthe device, shown in Fig. 1, the can with the punctured top within the device shown partially in section and partially in side view.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the combined lid and handle member, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the inventive sliding closure means for the outlet of the discharge spout.

Fig. 6 is a top view of a soft or resilient element to be placed in the lid and sealingly connecting the opening in the can top with the discharge spout inside the lid.

Fig. 7 is a cross section through the soft or resilient element taken along the line 7-1 of Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawing, a receptacle or cylindrical body In made of any suitable material, such as plastic or metal, and having a bottom I I, is provided with an open top through which-a can l2 of condensed or evaporated milk or other contents can be introduced. A dome or cup-shaped cover or lid I3 hingedly mounted on the upper portion of the receptacle I0 is adapted to close the top of this receptacle, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. The front part of this lid I3 is extended and formed with a forked hinge member l5, illustrated at the left side in Fig. 1 and at the right side in Fig. 3, said member l5 cooperating with a hinge member 16 inserted between the forked hinge member l5 and being integral with and projecting from the Wall of the receptacle H1. The lid l3 can be turned about the axis of a hinge pin I! through the hinge members l5 and IE to completely open the receptacle and get free access to the interior of the receptacle I0 when the can [2 is introduced therein or removed therefrom. An intermediate open position of the lid [3 is indicated in Fig. 3 with dotted lines. The extended rear part of the lid I3 is formed with a downwardly curved handle i8 having a locking element or latch IQ coopcrating with a lug 2% located close to and integral with the upper rim on the outside of. the wall of the receptacle iii in such a manner that said lid I3 i retained in closed position by said latch 19 engaging the lower or seat surface of said lug 20. The latch is is pivotally mounted at H! in a slot 21.2 provided in the lower side of said handle l8 and is acted upon by a small helical spring 23 located in a seat or cavity of said handle, said spring urging said latch outwardly, i. e. in the lug engaging position. When it is desired to open the closed serving device, the user of the device depresses the latch IS] with one of his finger tips overcoming the actionof the small spring 23, until the lug 2c is cleared, whereupon the lid I3 can be turned about its pivot pin H to open position, as described in the foregoing.

The upper portion of the extended front part of the lid l3, i. e. the part above the hinge member I5, is constructed as a discharge spout 24, through which the contents of the can |2 are poured when the device is tilted. This discharge spout is provided with a suitably cylindrical opening 25 passing through the wall of this extended front part of the lid I3 and connecting the chamber within the sercing device with the atmosphere. The handle :3 is extended over the domeshaped cover or lid l3 and actually ends in the discharge spout 24, i. e. the latter and the handle H! are made a a single arched piece protruding from and suitably integrally formed with the lid l3 of molded material, such as plastic or metal. The aesthetic appearance of the serving device is greatly enhanced by this construction.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the interior of the lid- H; is arched and diveded into two halves by a hollow longitudinal, box-shaped element 26 extending in the direction of the handle and discharge spout unit across almost the entire breadth in the interior of the lid 13, i. e. a small space in front of the inner end of the cylindrical passage 25 is left free by this box-shaped element 26 made of any material, for example of metal or plastic. If the lid l3 itself is of metal, the box-shaped element 26 is preferably made also of metal so that these parts can be joined by "soldering. Side portions of the metal element 26 may be molded in the lower wall of the lid |3.

A cutting member or tool 21 comprising a substantially fiat metal or steel strip with tapered, downwardly and outwardly bent, slanting blade ends 28 and 29 is mounted on the flat lower wall of the box-shaped element 26 by means of two screws 30 and 3| passed through openings 32 and 33, respectively, in said flat metal strip and screwed into threaded holes provided in said flat lower wall. These openings 32 and 33 have a somewhat larger diameter than that of the shanks of the screws 33 and 3| and/or are of oblong shape so that the proper position of the cutting member 21 can be readily adjusted by displacing said member lengthwise on and with respect to the element 26 before the screws 30 and 3| are tightened. The cutting member or tool 21 can be easily removed for sharpening or rea placed by unscrewing the two screws 30 and 3| and. assembled by mounting and adjusting, it with the aid of these screws. The downwardly bent blade ends 28 and 29 of the cutting member 21 have sharp bevel edges converging to piercing points 34 and 35, respectively. The front blade end 28 is substantially straight, while the rear blade end 29 is downwardly curved close to its piercing point 35. This rear blade end 29 is somewhat shorter than the front blade end 28. The front blade end 28 is adapted to cut the larger or main hole in the top of the can l2, i. e. the hole through which the contents of the can may pass while the shorter rear blade end 29 pierces a rather small vent opening in the can top diametrically opposite said main hole.

When the can I2 is to be opened, it is placed in the cylindrical receptacle l and the lid I3 is closed as described in the foregoing. The position of the-lid l3, when the tool 21 has just started to puncture the can top is indicated in Fig. 3 with dotted lines. During the closing movement of the lid l3 pressure is applied thereto, so that the blade ends, 28 and 29 can pierce the top of the can I2 and bend back triangularly-shaped sheet-metal portions or flaps 36 and 31 cut from the can top, as shown in Fig. 3. The position of the can I2 is fixed by the cutting tool 21, since its blade ends 28 and 29 engage the flaps 36 and 31, respectively.

A piece 38 of compressible or resilient material, such as soft, synthetic or natural rubber or plastic, is lodged in the space between the front blade end 28 of the cutting tool 21', the wall of the dome-shaped lid l3 in front of the inner end of the passage 25 and a somewhat slanting front wall of the box-shaped hollow member 26. This resilient piece 38-, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, has the general shape of a sector and is provided with a passage or opening 39 sealingly connecting the mainhole in the top of the can l2 cut by the front blade end 28 with the inner end of the passage 25 of the discharge nozzle 24 (see Figs. 3 and 4). The front blade end 28 engages a recessed portion 40 of the resilient piece 38 which is. suitably assembled before the cutting tool 21 is mounted. In other words, the resilient piece 38 is held in proper position by the front blade end 28. (See Fig. 2.)

The discharge passage 25 flares out at its outer end which isformed with a ball-shaped seat 4| adapted to be engaged by a ball-shaped closure member 42. This ball-shaped closure member 42 is secured to the front end of a thin and narrow strip, band or slide element 43 suitably made of a springy material, such as steel. The ball member 42 may be of metal and soldered to the end of said slide element 43, which extends across the top of the handle-discharge spout unit and is guided in a. slightly recessed guideway on said unit, the raised. flanges or ridges of which are shown at 44 in Fig. 1. This slide element 43 is retained in the. recessed guideway by means of, at least, two U-shaped clips 45, the legs of which are inserted in slots or cavities provided in the handle-discharge-spout-unit on both sides of the slide element 43. Pins 46 driven through the sides of the handle-discharge-spout-unit and the legs of said clips secure the latter to this unit. The slide element 43 ends in the rear in a thumb piece or loop 41 in easy reach of the users thumb when holding the device by the handle |8. A downwardly extending end of this loop 41 engages a recess provided in the top of the handle-discharge-spout-unit. The loop 41 acts as a compression spring displacing the slide 43 forwardly. The curved front end 48 of the springy steel strip or slide 43 isbiased to resiliently engage its guideway and slightly press the ball member 42 on its seat 4| in front of the discharge passage 25 closing this opening. When the user moves the slide 43 rearwards by applying a slight pressure to the spring loop 41 with the aid of his thumb and squeezes this loop, the ball member 42 becomes unseated by being displaced upwardly and also the biased front spring end 48 is raised from its guideway. In this position of the ball member 42, shown with dotted lines in Fig. 4, the discharge opening 25 is open and the contents of the can |'2 can be poured therethrough. When the pressure on the loop 41 is released, the slide 43 returns to its original position under the spring action of this loop and the ball member 42 snaps back on its seat 4| under the action of the curved front spring end 48 biased to move downwards, whereby the discharge opening 25 is closed. The movements of the slide 43, in both directions are limited by small protrusions 49' and 53. on the upper surface of. this slide, abutting the edges of either U-shaped clip 45 in the outermost positions of this slide.

A vent passage is provided through the lid E3 and the handle-discharge-spout-unit, in the chamber formed by the box-shaped element 215 which has, at least, one hole 52 in its wall, connecting said chamber to the space above the top of the can it. The upper end of the vent passage 5| is located underneath the slide 33 and is covered by said slide in the normal or closed position of the closure means. When the slide 43 is retracted to open the discharge opening 25 as described in the foregoing, a small hole 53 provided in this slide at a proper location connects the vent passage 5! with the atmosphere, so that the space above the can top and the interior of the punctured can I? communicate with the outer air. This is desirable for a free pouring of the contents of the can 12 through the discharge passage 25. The vent passage 5! is simultaneously covered, when the closure means returns to the closed position, so that the contents in the can I2 are shut on from the outer air, thus preventing them from spoiling.

The parts of the device according to the invention may be made of other materials as described in the foregoing. The ball member 42 may, for example, be made of rubber or covered with rubber or a rubber-like layer.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that this invention is not to be intended to be limited thereto, as various modifications and changes can be made in this invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A dispenser for household and kitchen use of the type described having a receptacle open at the top to receive therethrough the material to be dispensed, a lid to close the open top of said receptacle, a discharge opening formed through said lid to communicate with the material in said receptacle, the outside of said lid being arched and formed with a guide channel, a slide slidingly mounted in said guide channel, said slide terminating in a round portion normally overlaying the outer end of said discharge opening, said outer end being dished to receive said round portion, said slide being of spring material biased to firmly hold said round portion engaged with and in said dished outer end, and a handle member being attached to said slide adapted to be manually pulled, whereby said slide is displaced to lift said round portion out of and retract it from said dished outer end.

2. A combined can opener and dispenser comprising in combination, a receptacle open at the top to receive therethrough a can to be emptied, a lid to close the open top of said receptacle, said lid being hingedly mounted on said receptacle, a cutting means mounted inside said lid and being adapted to puncture the top of said can during the closing of said lid, a discharge opening formed through said lid, a member inside said lid having a passage via which said discharge opening communicates with the interior of said can through the hole punctured in said can top by said cutting means, the outside of said lid being arched and formed with a guide channel, a slide slidingly mounted in said guide channel, said slide terminating in a round portion normally overlaying the outer end of said discharge opening, said outer end being dished to receive said round portion, said slide being of spring material biased to firmly hold said round portion engaged with and in said Lished outer end, and a handle member being attached to said slide adapted to be manually pulled, whereby said slide is displaced to lift said round portion out of and retract it from dished outer end.

3. A combined can opener and dispenser according to claim 2, wherein said member having said assage is of resilient material and is formed to sealingly engage the inside of said lid and the outside of said punctured can top at and around said passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 756,373 Joyce Apr. 5, 1904 1,072,588 Duncan Sept. 9, 1913 1,216,180 Stuewe Feb. 13, 1917 1,229,902 Davis June 12, 1917 1,311,103 Walker July 22, 1919 2,131,238 Taylor et al Sept. 27, 1938 2,229,303 Peterson Jan. 21, 1941 

